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Law enforcement agencies struggling to fill their ranks or connect with their increasingly diverse populations are turning to immigrants to fill the gap.

Most agencies in the country require officers or deputies to be U.S. citizens, but some are allowing immigrants who are legally in the country to wear the badge. From Hawaii to Vermont, agencies are allowing green-card holders and legal immigrants with work permits to join their ranks.

At a time when 25,000 non-U.S. citizens are serving in the U.S. military, some feel it's time for more police and sheriff departments to do the same. That's why the Nashville Police Department is joining other departments to push the state legislature to change a law that bars non-citizens from becoming law enforcement officers.

Department spokesman Don Aaron said they want immigrants who have been honorably discharged from the military to be eligible for service.

"Persons who have given of themselves in the service to this country potentially have much to offer Tennesseans," he said. "We feel that ... would benefit both the country and this city."

Current rules vary across departments.

Some, like the Chicago and Hawaii police departments, allow any immigrant with a work authorization from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become an officer. That means people in the country on temporary visas or are applying for green cards can join.

Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Justin Mullins said the department usually struggles to fill trooper positions in less populous corners of the state, including patrol sectors high up in the mountains. He said immigrants from Canada, the Bahamas, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Central America who are willing to live in those remote places have helped the agency fill those vacancies.

"People that want to live there and build a family there and work there is a little more difficult to find," Mullins said. "People moving from out of state, or out of the country, if they're willing to work in these areas, then that's great for us."

Other agencies, like the Cincinnati Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, require that officers at least have a pending citizenship application on file with the federal government. And others, like the Burlington, Vt., and Boulder, Colo., police departments, require that officers be legal permanent residents, or green-card holders.

With more immigrants moving to places far from the southern border or away from traditional immigrant magnets like New York City or Miami, agency leaders say it's important to have a more diverse police force to communicate with those immigrants and understand their culture. Bruce Bovat, deputy chief of operations in Burlington, said their immigrant officers help the agency be more "reflective of the community we serve."

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said he has no problems with green-card holders becoming police officers because they've made a long-term commitment to the country and have undergone extensive background checks. But he worries about the security risks associated with allowing any immigrant with a work permit to become an officer, especially considering that the Obama administration has given hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants work permits.

"We're handing over a gun and a badge to somebody whose background we don't really know a lot about," Krikorian said.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, said any immigrant authorized to work in the U.S. has already undergone a thorough background check and will undergo even more screening in the police application process.

"The security risk is a straw man," he said. "This is about people who have gone through criminal background checks, who are meeting the very high standards that we set as a country to stay here and who only want to serve and protect their communities."

Just how do you perform an extensive background check on someone with a hidden background? There is absolutely no reason for any of the banana republic governments to cooperate with a US local law enforcement agency. And even if they did, why would we have any faith in their information collection systems?

This Country developed concepts about (Government) service in that pesky paper called the Constitution. I know it old, stale needs to be replaced ... /sarcasm...

But the Examples of qualifications (President, etc.) was for very important Reasons.

This is just another of a continuous flow of "Give American Jobs Away" to alien workers.

Simple why nots:

Language barrier

Cultural barrier

Educational conflicts

Those are without thinking very hard!!!

I believe there enough Americans to Work American jobs!!!

I was listening to a talk show about the number of American graduates in the STEM fields, We have Ample qualified MA's & Phd's, and yet ~we~ Bring over foreign workers for those fields... That is plain Wrong.

The STEM fields of Science, Technology Engineering & Mathematics are given to people who have Zero Reason to keep their new knowledge in this Country, and often Export it back home, with no way of protecting the Companies hard work...

Me: if I was stopped by a LEO, from say Bulgaria, it would cause me to question that Officers Ability to comprehend ourblaws.

Just how do you perform an extensive background check on someone with a hidden background? There is absolutely no reason for any of the banana republic governments to cooperate with a US local law enforcement agency. And even if they did, why would we have any faith in their information collection systems?

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I think if they have a bad background they will want to get rid of them so they will say they are good to go.

Just how do you perform an extensive background check on someone with a hidden background? There is absolutely no reason for any of the banana republic governments to cooperate with a US local law enforcement agency. And even if they did, why would we have any faith in their information collection systems?

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Remember the thorough background checks done on these upstanding immigrants.

I knew a police officer from the UK, he was that part of the police force I where I lived at the time. He believed civilians shouldn't own firearms of any kind. This attitude will grow with this policy in place and accepted by the people.

Non Americans who have served in the US military are able to become US citizens upon completion of their first enlistment period. When my youngest graduated boot camp in 2006, there was one guy from Ethopia (sp?)in the company who had completed 4 years in the Navy, and had enlisted in the Marine Corps after that. He took his citizenship oath in front of his company and about 4000 family members.

As far as the excuse that they cannot fill the ranks with real US citizens, that is complete bullshot. Police and fire positions have more applicants than they possibly can ever use. Every applicant to OSP knows they are starting in traffic patrol in Burns, Ontario or Umatilla, and they still have more applicants than they can hire. Starting out in remote locations has nothing to do with it, these agencies in these "remote" locations do not pay very good, that is why they cannot fill their positions. Check out what a 10 year service deputy in Del Norte County California makes and that will tell you why.

Take a lesson from the trucking business, where a lot of decent jobs have been lost to dots, rags and others who will work for a lot less than hard working US citizens. They make wreck a truck now and then, and kill some innocent other person, but what is that if the trucking company can save .10 or better a mile.

Who do you think they'll use if THEY decide to confiscate are guns. If you don't have a real allegiance to Our country who not better to use ( not saying that towards all immigrants I know some really care about this country and some don't ) just saying
Stacy
I'm Not very P. C.

I would be interested in hearing where you are from and what motivated you to come to America and become US citizens. If you do not want to tell that is fine, I can mind my own business, but I think it would be a great insight to a lot of people that take our 2nd and other rights for granted.

I assisted a few former employees in becoming citizens over the last 25 years and they are great people.

Thank you both for coming to our great country and becoming the patriots that you are.

Let me guess... because from where you are from people don't have these freedoms?

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Exactly. I'm educated, multilingual, and a medical professional, I could "do well" just about anywhere in the world. If I wanted to live somewhere like Europe I would have gone/stayed there. To me, it is the right to bear arms that separates a citizen from a subject and as such Europe is not truly a free continent so much as a (somewhat) benign dictatorship. It exemplifies what Orwell said about how no one is more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free. Unfortunately there are elements within American society, some out of ignorance and some with ulterior intentions, that are trying to turn the States into Europe. As someone who left there, I am very much against it following me here.

I would be interested in hearing where you are from and what motivated you to come to America and become US citizens. If you do not want to tell that is fine, I can mind my own business, but I think it would be a great insight to a lot of people that take our 2nd and other rights for granted.

I assisted a few former employees in becoming citizens over the last 25 years and they are great people.

Thank you both for coming to our great country and becoming the patriots that you are.

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I am from Germany. And it was my job that brought me over. Now I have a family and am raising my children in the beautiful NW.

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